


And the Battle Continues Once Again

by SashaDerksen



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Angst, Child Soldiers, Fluff, Gen, Soviet Union, World War II
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2018-05-09
Packaged: 2018-09-16 20:19:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,584
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9288110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SashaDerksen/pseuds/SashaDerksen
Summary: When the Soviet Union gets invaded by Nazi Germany, a group of teenagers decide to rise up and defend their country as partisans. The risk they took was evident, but they soon realize that the work of a partisan is much more difficult than they expected. [WW2 AU]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Quick notice: in this AU I use the younger version of APH characters, meaning that they have personalities of their younger selves (meaning that Ivan is friendlier, Natalia is more dependent on Ekaterina, e.t.c) . Otherwise, enjoy.

Ivan Braginsky was only fifteen when the war began. He remembered his older sister, rushing into the house and practically throwing him and his young sister into the basement. She was supposed to be out with her friends, on graduation night, but she had to watch her younger siblings. Little did she know beforehand, but that saved her life. All of her old classmates were hit by the bombs dropped early in the morning when the Nazis attacked Kiev. Their father worked at the factory and was tragically killed in the bombing as well, as they found out later. The four of them spent at least twenty four hours in the underground, crying and in hysterics. Ekaterina was the oldest, at eighteen years old, then came Ivan at fifteen and Natalia at thirteen. Once the bombing had ceased and it was dead silent outside, Ekaterina went outside to check. The sight that she was met with terrified her to the bone. Their entire village was in ruins, she didn't know who was dead and who was alive. With a shaky breath, she gave her siblings a signal to get out of the underground. They crawled out with the same expression on their faces.

"Katya, what's happened?" Natalia clutched Ekaterina's arm in fear and terror.

"It's okay. What matters is that all of us are together and alright." She stared into her sister's eyes with determination. The blonde nodded and they continued looking over the sight. 

A shriek suddenly erupted from the neighboring house, or its remains, at least. They kept their eyes on the mass of wood until they saw a familiar blond run out of the house in a panic. The young boy, Ivan's age, collapsed on the ground and screamed again, sobbing.

The sight horrified the siblings and Ivan was the first one to do something. He began speed-walking to the boy with a worried look on his face.

"Feliks!" He yelled, and the Polish boy immediately turned his to face him, his green eyes red from crying. The two had been classmates and had only finished ninth grade. They hadn't been the best of friends, but they were neighbors for as long as they could remember, making them at least acquaintances.

"Are you hurt? What happened?!" Ivan finally reached the other. Despite the fact that he was kneeling in front of him, he was still taller. 

Suddenly, Feliks threw his arms around Ivan and continued sobbing and Ivan hugged him back. It was a heart-wrenching sight.

"My mom... she won't wake up. I don't know what happened! I checked for pulse like they taught us in labor class and there's nothing. She's- she's dead, Vanya! I'm all alone in the world!" He continued crying and at this time, Katerina and Natalia sisters walked over. Their family was on good terms with Feliks's. His mother immigrated from Poland to the Soviet Union when he was only two years old. Since their children were around the same age, his mother and Ivan's parents were very good friends.

"Hey, it's going to be okay. We'll rebuild the house and we can continue living as usual. The Germans won't do anything to us- we're kids." Ivan had to admit that he wasn't the best at comforting people, but it wasn't like he could just be silent either.

"Are you serious?! The Germans don't care if we're kids! They occupied and bombed my country and killed all of my family that I had two years ago. And now they took the last thing I had. I don't know what pink glasses you wear, Ivan, but it's time to take them off." Feliks hissed, his face still buried in Ivan's shoulder, "I've got nowhere to go and no one to stay with. My mother wanted so badly to escape the war, and this is the result. When the Germans get here and find out I'm Polish, they'll shoot me on the spot."

Ivan wanted to look back at Ekaterina before saying this, but he wanted so badly to make his childhood friend feel better, "You can stay with us. I'll make sure myself that the Germans don't hurt you. Everything will be okay." 

"Is that really alright with you?" Feliks pulled away from the hug and stared deep into Ivan's eyes. It was unusual to see him, a usually carefree person, act so seriously.  
Ivan turned to his older sister who sighed and nodded. She had known Feliks since his family moved into the neighboring house, he was like a cousin to her.

"Thank you so much! I don't know how I'll ever be able to pay you back." He stood up along with Ivan.

So weeks had passed by and the four had fixed some of the severe damages of the house. Sometimes the Germans would come to the house and demand food and water. They couldn't ask for shelter since the house was practically in ruins. Ivan and Feliks would go out into the fields to take potatoes and wheat from the workers. They knew it was a bad thing to do, but that was the only way they could eat. The savings they had were destroyed in the bombing and the food in the underground was saved for the German soldiers. The latter, in return, did not confiscate the house. There was one soldier that stood out from the others. He was short with blond hair and brown eyes and always wore a smile on his face. He came in for the food, and ended up staying at the kids' house for a few hours. He told them stories of the front line and gave them milk and soap, despite Ekaterina's many protests. He said that it was the least they could do since they were only children. When he was leaving, he gave Ekaterina a kiss on the cheek and handed her his military coat. They never saw him again.

This routine lasted for nearly two months until one day changed it all. It was the dead of the night and the four had already gotten ready for bed. A knock on the door interrupted that process. Natalia went to answer the door and waited for another round of knocks before actually opening it. She cracked it open and glared at whoever was on the other side. She found it to be a boy around her age with a serious expression on his face. His silver hair and red eyes gave off a strange feeling.

"What do you want?" Natalia hissed, not opening the door further.

"Are there any Nazi soldiers in your house at this moment?" It angered Natalia that he replied with another question to her own, so she replied with a stiff "no".

"I would ask to come in to speak to your parents." He stated, irritating the blonde even further.

"I don't have parents. Now either tell me what you want or get out."

The boy sighed and cleared his throat, "My name is Gilbert Beilschmidt. I'm from the Soviet Partisan Resistance Movement. I'm asking for shelter, and, if you're willing to give it, food and water." 

Upon hearing this, Natalia's frustration melted into confusion and curiosity. She's heard of the Partisans before, they were a group of regular people who opposed the Nazi forces. They were much like the regular Red Army soldiers, except they fought on their own will using their own skill or lack thereof. They endured hell on earth to defend their Motherland. Usually those fighters were the elderly and untrained, but Natalia had never heard of teenagers fighting in the Partisan forces.

"Come in." The door creaked as the girl opened it fully and stepped to the side, allowing Gilbert to enter.

"Thank you. It really means a lot." He gave her a smile.

"My siblings are getting ready to go to bed. You'll have to talk to them first. Although I doubt that they'll throw you outside." She pondered and led the boy into their shared room. It was dark, with the only light being an old kerosene lamp.

When they entered, the three in the room had immediately turned to look at them with confusion. Ekaterina eyed Gilbert with distrust, "Natasha, who is that?"

"This is Gilbert. He's from the Partisan forces." She stated, but the look on her sister's face didn't falter.

"Come over here." The woman motioned with her finger and the blonde stepped forward, without any doubts.

"Natasha, do you know what kind of punishment they give to partisan sympathizers? Execution. On the spot. Not to mention that he looks Germanic to me. If he's a Nazi spy, all of us will be in mass amounts of trouble." Ekaterina whispered frantically.

Gilbert spoke up before Natalia could respond, "I know you have your doubts and I know that all of this is dangerous, but I'm going to be here for only one night. You won't see me again after that, I promise." 

Ekaterina stared at the boy intently before sighing, "It's too late at night to be starting disputes. You can sleep here, but know that I want an explanation early in the morning.

And if I find anything stolen, you and I are going to have a lot of problems." 

"Thank you." He nodded and began preparing for bed as well. He took off his military coat and boots and began looking for a place to rest. In theory, even the floor would've been acceptable in his situation, but he noticed Natalia pulling a mattress next to her own.

"Soldier or not, you're a guest in this house." Was her explanation and Gilbert thanked her once again. He felt like Natalia was starting to get annoyed by his constant expressions of gratitude, but that was the way he was taught in military school. He couldn't let these people see his true wild personality just yet.

"Good night." He stated as the girl laid down on her mattress. She looked at him in confusion.

"Likewise." Natalia mumbled and turned to her other side.

 

* * *

 

Morning came quickly and Gilbert soon found himself sitting around a circular piece of wood, a supposed table, surrounded by the four. He had figured that these people would have suspicions. At least they hadn't thrown him out like the others before.

"We've done what you asked. Now, why don't you explain exactly who you are?" Ekaterina was, again, glaring at him. Gilbert got the feeling that she didn't trust or like him at all.

Nonetheless, he began.

"While I am of Soviet descent, I was born in Berlin. My younger brother, Ludwig, still lives there with my parents. When Hitler came to power, I was sent to the Soviet Union, and that's all because of the fact that I am albino. Both of my parents and my brother are blonde haired and blue eyed, meanwhile I look like this. Because my parents feared what might happen to me during the drafting for the army, they sent me away. But I think they just didn't want me to cause legal trouble for them. I lived in an orphanage. When I lived there, I met a pretty awesome Lithuanian boy, his name is Toris. He was also sent to the Soviet Union from Lithuania because he was the oldest of three siblings. We overheard the adults talking about partisan groups and how they would be created if the Nazis were ever to attack. We began stealing books from the library to learn about these groups. When the war began, we ran away into the forest to begin our own partisan group. It's tough work, but it's worth it. We set mines off under bridges, we make shelters for the Red Army, and the most fun part is that I can use my German to pass off as one of the Nazis. One time, I wandered into one of their camps and told them that I accidentally got on one of their trains. They kept me fed and warm and gave me clothes. At night, I would sneak off to Toris to give him all of those things. I lived there for about three months, then it was time for them to move their camp. I said that I would be returning to Berlin and they gave money for the train. In reality, I went to mine and Toris's awesome underground with all of those things. We still use them, and I'm planning to repeat that soon." Gilbert explained, boasting about his adventures. 

The group looked at him with mixed emotion. Ekaterina was terrified at what dangerous acts this seemingly innocent boy had committed, Natalia, usually disinterested in most things, had her attention captured instantly. To her, brave countrymen who stood up to fight against the enemy were the true heroes of this world. Ivan was amazed by the adventures the German had been on. If he could break the routine to do the same, he would've done so in a heartbeat. Feliks, being the curious person he was, wanted to get to know both Gilbert and Toris better. 

"Now that I've told you about myself, am I free of debt?" Gilbert smiled playfully and stood up. Natalia pulled him down by the sleeve of his shirt before he could do anything else.

"Not yet. Tell me more about your group. What do you do, how do you operate?" She asked as he sat back down.

"Well, we usually just lay low and help out the Red Army when we don't have any sudden missions. If we do, we plan everything beforehand, find out information about our enemies. We never go into battle unprepared. Basically, Toris is the brains and I'm the brawn, although we carry out our plans together. We sometimes get short handed, since it's only the two of us that have to do everything, but we work it out." Gilbert explained as well as he could, caught off guard by Natalia's sudden demand.

"Would you, perhaps, like some addition to your group?" Ivan quietly asked from the side. All of the teens were thinking the same thing. They were mesmerized by the German boy and his brave doings. In their young, Soviet pioneer minds, this frail albino was a national hero, and despite being born in the country that was now the enemy, he was loyal to his motherland. They could only dream to be like him, and now was the chance to fulfill that dream.

"Absolutely not. It's out of the question, don't even think about it." Ekaterina gathered the three teens and shook her head.

"Aren't you in the komsomol?" Gilbert suddenly asked Ekaterina, who furrowed her brows.

"Yes, but what does that have to do with anything?" She replied with another question.

"I could tell. You have the emblem on your shirt." He pointed to a bright red pin with the image of Lenin on the collar of her blouse, "Every woman in the komsomol should know and be able to use the battle techniques of the defense of the USSR, right? That's simply the code, I'm just saying." 

"I know those techniques damn well, I just don't want to send me and my siblings to death's doorstep." Ekaterina glared, deeply offended by the boy's words. She was an excellent member of the Communist Youth Union, and was even awarded for her accomplishments. And now this little runt was pouring dirt all over that? 

"If so, why are we shaking the air? My great thanks to you and your family for providing necessities to someone who is defending the motherland." Gilbert sneered and turned on his heel to grab his coat.

"Hold on just a second." This set off everything Ekaterina was holding back, "We'll come with you. Better than stealing from the farmers and living in a rundown shack." She was a child of Lenin, and a loyal citizen of the Soviet Union. If this was what she had to do to prove that, so be it.

"Katya, are you serious?" Feliks piped up with rising excitement and disbelief.

"Of course I am. Get your things, it shouldn't take long." She turned to the three who intently nodded and scurried off to their room to get what they had. They didn't have much: Ivan took the scarf he was given by Ekaterina, Feliks took his mother's hand clock, and Natalia took a trench that Ekaterina passed down to her when she received the German military coat from that one soldier.

In just a matter of minutes the teens were ready. Ekaterina put on the coat, put the family's savings, two hundred rubles, in it and the five set off, not once looking back.


	2. Chapter 2

"Toris, I'm home!" Gilbert yelled as he threw the door open to an underground shelter. It was dimly lit, but that was enough. Not to mention that it was extremely spacious for an underground, "I brought some new kids, too."

Upon hearing that phrase, Toris immediately sprung from his makeshift stool and turned to face the entrance.

"What? Why didn't you tell me beforehand?" He asked. His voice had a sweet ring to it, and when he stepped close enough, the four saw that his face matched his voice. Feliks, who usually noticed the small details, was extremely mesmerized. This Lithuanian boy of only fourteen years of age, not much at first sight, was a piece of art to Feliks. From the way his forest green eyes scanned the four to the smile that appeared on his face. Feliks could swear that his smile alone could light up everything around him. His pale, calloused hands were the harbingers of rebellious peace and the way his chestnut hair, cut in almost the same way as Feliks's, shifted with his every move. Feliks had been to many museums before, but he had never seen anything or anyone quite like Toris. 

"Hey, snap out of it, kid. You might not be used to new people, but you're stuck with us now. Don't worry, though. I'm basically the awesomest person in all of the Soviet Union and Toris here is just as awesome as I am, so we won't give you a hard time." Gilbert smirked and threw an arm around the Lithuanian.

"Gilbert, there's no need to boast." Toris scolded with a laugh.

"Oh please, you don't have to be so humble. We've managed to keep the Nazis away from Borovka only because of your thinking. God, you should be awarded the Order of the Red Star for everything you've done." The albino exclaimed.

"I only managed to trick an enemy warplane and now this idiot is going around telling people how I saved the town. These are the people I hang out with." The Lithuanian shook his head and playfully punched Gilbert in the shoulder.

"You tricked an enemy warplane by yourself?" Ivan asked in disbelief.

"Well, you could put it like that. When the Nazis were throwing bombs left and right, I set up four mirrors around Borovka so it seemed like there was no town, just forest. It was a simple trick of light. Anyone could've done it, really." Toris shrugged, but the teens didn't take it.

"Don't say that! That's something not every Soviet general can come up with, and you did it extremely well. You saved your town from the Nazis! That's something to be proud of, if you ask me." Feliks burst out. Not only was the Lithuanian stunning inside and out, but he was also extremely smart. If perfection could become a person, it would be Toris.

"Honestly! You're as smart as Katya, and that's saying a lot. She was awarded by comrade Stalin himself." Natalia looked at the the boy with wide eyes.

"It really is impressive. You're probably one of the best fighters in the entire partisan movement." Ekaterina nodded in approval. Before Toris could decline all of the compliments he was suddenly showered with, Gilbert cut into the conversation.

"He's the best one in the Southwestern regiment for sure!" 

Toris gave up on trying to decline everything the teens were saying. Honestly, he found it hard to do so. But he was just someone that underestimated himself all of the time. Even if he wanted to change it, he wouldn't be able to. 

"Anyway, while you were recruiting new members, I got a mission." He changed the subject. He stated it as if receiving a mission was better than being a potential national hero.

"No way! Why do the best things happen while I'm gone?" Gilbert shook his head in frustration, "Is it from the Red Army?"

"Better. It's from the Nazis." Toris led the four deeper into the room to a board with notes and pictures placed all over, "It wasn't a direct mission, obviously, but I managed to get a hold of this." 

The Lithuanian held up a stained piece of paper with German writing, "I translated it with the dictionary, and it says that the Nazis actually hadn't gotten further than Moscow. And as it turns out, they're losing the battle."

The teens looked with him with gaping eyes. For as long as they could remember, the Nazis always told them that both Leningrad and Moscow have been invaded, Stalin was taken hostage, and their forces were in Ural. This piece of paper alone was proof that their sayings were simply tales. 

"I totally know what you're getting at! We need to tell everybody in Borovka and Tikhoe, and maybe even Krasniy if we can get that far!" Gilbert exclaimed.

"Exactly. So let's get to work. The faster we write and post the papers, the faster the people will find out the truth." Toris handed the teens a stack of blank bleached newspapers and a paper that already had writing on it, "Just copy what I've written and we can hang them up."

The six spent the next few hours writing intently. They had pens that Gilbert and Toris made beforehand for themselves and a jar of ink they took from the Nazis. It wasn't much, but they managed to write a dozen papers and by five o'clock, they were ready to hang them up around neighboring villages.

"Okay, so we need to split up. Natasha, Vanya, and Katya, Tikhoe is on the road to your village, so you will take four papers and go there. Hang them up in places where people usually go, like parks and shops. Just please make sure you don't get caught. Feliks, Toris, and I are going to go to Borovka. Tomorrow we are going to Krasniy together, since it's twenty kilometers from our base." Gilbert proclaimed and the rest nodded, "We gather here at seven. Good luck." 

The teens set off not even five minutes after that. They were excited to go on their first mission and to prove that they were outstanding members of the pioneers and komsomol. Their country needed them and they were more than happy to answer the call.

***

"Do you think it was a good idea to let them go alone? I mean, it is their first mission, and they might not remember where the underground is." Toris asked as his group walked on the path to   
Borovka.

"I'm sure that they'll be fine. They know the area and if we come back earlier than they do, I'll stand on the path from Tikhoe. Besides, Ivan and Ekaterina are in the Komsomol, they know what to do." Gilbert shrugged. In reality, he did feel a bit uneasy sending the others off, but he managed   
to calm both Toris and himself by his words.

"Hey, this might sound weird, but what happens if we get caught by Nazis? If they were in our village, they have to be in this one, too." Feliks asked.

"First off, Borovka isn't a village, it's a town. There's a big differ-"

"The most they can do is beat us up. They don't care that much, since we're only kids. We've gotten caught before, and Gilbert just talked us out of it. I think what we need to do is just be careful and everything will work out." Toris interrupted Gilbert's rant and finished it with his signature smile. He didn't want Feliks to feel unwelcomed in the group, so he decided to strike up a conversation with a statement of his own, "You're Polish, right? There's a man in Borovka who's also from Poland. He tells me and Gil a bunch of stories and sometimes, when the rations allow it, he makes pierogis by the traditional recipe. After we finish hanging up the flyers, we'll take you to meet him."

"I am Polish, but me and my mother moved before I started school. I don't remember much, but this man sounds like a nice person, I'd like to meet him." Feliks replied with a smile. He hadn't met any other Polish people, as far as he could remember, and maybe it would be nice to meet someone who was the same as him.

"Oh yeah, old man Hainrich is the best. We always borrowed things from his garage when we were building the underground. He helped, too." Gilbert added.

The three continued their conversation as they walked to Borovka. Feliks became more and more comfortable with the two, Toris especially. Gilbert had a hot-headed personality, and was either boasting or defending the things close to him. The German wasn't a bad person- no, he was the exact opposite of that. But Toris was kind and open and willing to hear whatever Feliks had to say, and respond to it in that honey-like voice of his. Feliks was sure that he had found his favorite person.

In a matter of minutes, the three reached the town and walked through the streets. It was paved, so that made walking easier and faster. They came to a stop near a small park, there was a bulletin board in front of the entrance.

"Perfect place to put our flyer." Gilbert smirked and walked up to the board with the paper in his hand, "There's no pins here. Just as I thought."

The German turned to Feliks and Toris and eyed the Polish boy for a few seconds, "You had a stone with you earlier."

"Yeah, why?" Feliks subconsciously ran his fingers over the marble in his pocket that was given to him by another classmate of his for their last New Year's together. The classmate's parents worked in the government and his dad went to Greece for a work trip and brought back a set of stones, one of which was given as a gift to the Polish boy. The stone had a fancy name to it, but neither the classmate, nor Feliks remembered it.

"Can you give it to me?" Gilbert impatiently asked while leaning against the bulletin board.

"It's important to me, I can't just give it to you." The blond replied, dumbfounded.

"I'm not going to do anything bad. I'll give it back, I just need it for a few seconds." Feliks reluctantly handed him the stone. After examining it, Gilbert took a small nail out of his pocket, hung the paper on the board using it, and knocked it into the board using the stone.

"See? I just used it to do our job. Seriously, you gotta learn to trust me." Gilbert placed the stone into Feliks's hand and the three went to their next stop.

They had no problems hanging up the rest of the flyers. With every stop they made, Gilbert would be the one to hang the paper, while Toris and Feliks stood on watch out for any Nazis that might've come their way. After they finished, it was nearly six o' clock. 

"We finished earlier than I expected. That's a job well done." Toris approvingly stated.

"And you know what that means. Let's hope that old man Hainrich is prepared for guests." Gilbert exclaimed and lead the other two down a narrow street, where white, old houses were aligned neatly. 

The albino jumped on the front steps of one of the houses and knocked loudly, "Hainrich! Open up, it's Gilbert and Toris!"

The boy kept knocking until an old, raspy voice yelled an irritated "Coming" from the other side of the door.

"You runts will be the final nail in my coffin." The door opened to reveal an elderly man, in work clothes and a padded jacket, soot in some places on his aged face.

"We brought one of your countrymen: this is Feliks." Gilbert pulled the blond next to him. Hainrich looked at him and a smile appeared on his face.

"Well, isn't that great. Come in, I've got kielbasa and news just for you." He opened the door and the teens stepped inside. The house was big, even bigger than the house Feliks lived in with his mother before the war. It was decorated with paintings and photos along the walls. When they reached the living room, they sat on the couch while Hainrich sat in an armchair next to a burning fireplace. There was food on the coffee table in front of the couch and Gilbert immediately grabbed a plate full of kielbasa and put it on his lap.

"Hey, not all of it is for you! Give me and Feliks some." Toris protested and snatched the plate away, took a piece for himself and the Polish boy, and set it back on the table.

"Don't fight over it, there's enough for all of you." Hainrich proclaimed while picking up an old rifle that stood next to the chair he sat in. He placed it in his lap and began cleaning the outside of it with a rag while the teens ate.

"That's a sweet gun, is it new?" Gilbert said as he took another piece of kielbasa.

"Not exactly. The official partisan group came around a few days back and gave me a bunch of old Nazi weaponry. They asked me to fix it up, and I've already finished a couple of rifles and a flamethrower. The idiots also brought a beat-up Panzerjager to my house. It's in my garage, I've got no idea how I'm supposed to fix it." Hainrich shook his head in disapproval.

"You have a real German tank in your garage?!" Gilbert nearly jumped off the couch. He'd always been amazed with war machinery, be it Soviet or German, he didn't care.

"I don't even consider it a tank, it's just a pile of metal." The man stated.

"Is that all of the news you had for us?" Toris asked as he leaned against the arm of the couch.

"When did I ever have such a small amount of news?" Hainrich set the rifle down, "My nephew is coming to the Soviet Union from Bulgaria next week. That's because the Nazis are taking the country over. He has a personality similar to you, Toris. I think the three of you would like to meet him, and possibly, recruit him into your junior partisan group." 

Toris wondered how meeting someone with his personality would be like, "This is a dangerous activity. Do you really want to put your nephew in this situation?" 

"He said that he wants to do it himself. People join partisan groups because they want to get revenge on the enemy without joining the official army. Dmitri told me about a friend of his that added three years to his age and left for the Bulgarian army. Rumors say he got killed on the front, but that doesn't make his act any less patriotic." The man explained.

"Well, if that's what he wants to do, then we'll be more than happy. We just got new members in our group, and the more the merrier, right?" Toris replied with a nervous chuckle. If new members came at this rate, they could actually become part of the official resistance movement. That had both its ups and downs.

"New members are good and all, but our underground is small and so is our ration supply. We   
only have a hundred bullets, four pistols and a basic rifle. Our only food is cooked potatoes. I doubt that anyone wants to willingly live in these conditions." Gilbert stated, his serious stance coming back.

"You have weapons?" Feliks whisper-yelled to the albino in shock.

"Obviously. What kind of partisans would we be without weapons?" The German said in a conceding manner, "Speaking of which, Hainrich, remember those pistols and that sniper rifle you promised? Because I do."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, kid. I have your guns. But before I give them to you, I want to know for sure that my nephew will be a part of your group."

"Yeah, sure. As long as he's fine with living in these shit conditions, we'll welcome him with open arms." Gilbert scoffed, preparing to get new weapons.

"Oh, Dmitri will be living here. He's just going to go on missions with you, that's it." Hainrich warned.

"Even better. I don't want the kid to be forced into this." Gilbert shrugged and jumped off the couch in anticipation, "Can you just give us the guns already? I'm getting more and more impatient every second." 

"Fine, fine. Good lord, Gilbert, you need to work on your willpower." Hainrich stood up and so did Toris and Feliks. The four walked through the hallway into the man's garage. Hainrich took out a key and opened the door.

The room was dark before Hainrich flicked a switch. The garage wasn't big, but it wasn't small either. Just as he said,there was a metal machine, supposedly the Panzerjager, standing in the middle. The garage was a mess, but neither the teens nor Hainrich himself minded that.

"Here are the pistols and the rifle is in that corner." The man held out two Makarov pistols and gestured towards a Finnish model sniper rifle.

"Wow, how old are these?" Feliks asked in amazement as he carefully took a pistol into his hand.

"They're from the Winter War. The Makarovs were brought in by my comrades, and the rifle is a trophy weapon. They weren't working when I took them, but I fixed them and now they're all yours." Hainrich smiled as he looked at the Polish boy, "Take good care of them, kids."

"Thank you." Toris took the other Makarov and placed it in his jacket.

"And do we get any bullets for these puppies?" Gilbert smirked while nearing the rifle.

"I'll give you two magazines for the rifle, but you have to use them carefully. You already have enough bullets for the pistols. I have you three boxes last time, Gilbert." Hainrich sighed. 

"Whatever you say." The albino shrugged and turned to the other two, "Hey, help me package this. We don't want to get caught, do we?"


	3. Chapter 3

A patriotic song, sometimes drained out by static was playing at half volume. Gilbert was hogging the cot shared by him and Toris, so the latter was sitting on a woven rug in front of a low table, resting his head on said table. Feliks was watching them both intently. He would've let Toris rest on his own cot, if Ivan didn't have half of it. The blond had fallen asleep, but Feliks knew he was a light sleeper. If anything besides the radio sounded, he would instantly wake up. His sisters shared another cot. Katerina was reading a newspaper that was brought in the day prior. She often read them before they were bleached and used as paper. Natalia was tapping her finger on the wooden wall lightly to the rhythm of the song. 

The young partisans had a day off, if one could put it like that. No missions from the Red Army, no news from the Nazis, and no invitations from Hainrich meant that they had all day to themselves. This was a rare occurrence.

"Damn it! Why can't I think of a good plan?" Gilbert groaned as he slammed his notebook on the cot.

"Because you've been trying to think of one for, what, two hours? Give it a rest." Toris stated in annoyance, not lifting his head. 

"I can't waste time! Just because there's nothing to do right now doesn't mean that there isn't a war going on." The albino glared at his friend.

"At least give me my half of the bed." Said friend turned his head in the other's direction.

"I won't have room to write." Gilbert shook his head.

"Selfish bastard." Toris once again rest his head in his arms on the table. It became quiet like before.

"Hey, do you want to go to visit Hainrich? His nephew is arriving from Bulgaria by train today." Ivan asked sleepily while rubbing his eyes. He was awoken by the duo's arguing. 

"Train?" Gilbert suddenly turned to face the blond who looked at him in confusion.

"Yeah. I don't think there's another way to get here from there." 

"I just got an idea." The German smiled widely and jumped off the bed, "Get dressed, everyone. We're leaving."

"To Hainrich's?" Feliks asked, sitting up on his own bed.

"To the train station." Gilbert turned to him as he wrapped a scarf around himself, "Then to Hainrich's"

***

The teens walked to the station at a medium pace. It was still morning, so the road was covered in fog and dew. That was no problem for them, as they wore Soviet military clothes. The problem was that no one besides Gilbert knew what they were going towards. They had been at the station before, when they went to Krasnoye. However, it was heavily guarded by the Nazis. There was a guard every hundred meters or so, making it very difficult to get around. They questioned everyone who came and went thoroughly, and the young partisans were no exception. They only managed to get by because of Gilbert's knowledge of the German language, and they weren't eager to repeat that. 

"Come on, you guys move slower than my grandma." The German motioned the rest to go forward, as he was in the very front.

"You don't have a grandma, Gilbert." Toris glared playfully. It wasn't rare for them to jokingly argue. They did it basically all the time, and neither of them minded that.

"I might. You don't know that." Gilbert stuck out his tongue at the Lithuanian who sneered in response.

"Neither do you." 

"Be quiet. We're here." Katerina gripped the two by the shoulders and the group stopped. They were hidden behind some bushes, but they had a clear view of the rails. There was a train departing.

"Mind explaining why you dragged us here now?" Ivan asked as he suppressed a yawn.

"Alright, so here's the deal," Gilbert proudly turned to the teens with his hands on his hips, "You see how there's trains here all of the time? The green trains are passenger trains, they come here from the Soviet Union and all of Europe. But the black trains are Nazi-controlled cargo trains, like this one here. I think we could blow one of them up and take the contents." 

The rest looked at him with a dumbfounded expression. What he said sounded crazy, and more than incompletable.

Natalia turned on the heels of her boots and began walking in the direction of the underground.

"Hey, where are you going?" Gilbert yelled in the direction of the blonde.

"To base. Your "plan" is insane, Gilbert. It'll never work." She scoffed. 

"It might." Toris spoke up. The teens looked at him carefully, "It might work, but it'll take a while to work everything out. Also, we don't have the supplies for it." 

"Please. We have more than enough mines and grenades." Natalia crossed her arms.

"It's not just that. You'll see. Come on, let's go to Hainrich's." The Lithuanian motioned across the rails.

***

Gilbert jumped onto the familiar porch and knocked on the door with the usual "it's Gilbert from the resistance movement".  All of the partisans have been at his house by now, and all of them were glad to know the man. 

But instead of the familiar complaint and elderly man opening the door, they were greeted by a young boy. He was medium height with short dark hair and moss green eyes. He appeared surprised at first, but a smile appeared on his face shortly.

"So you must the partisans uncle Hainrich told me about. It's an honor to meet you in person. I'm Dmitri." He introduced himself. The teens noted that he really did have a similarity to Toris.

"Likewise. Your uncle told us a lot about you." The Lithuanian nodded. 

“You’re probably here to see him, I apologize for keeping you outside. Come in, please.” Dmitri moved over so that the rest could enter. They already knew the layout of Hainrich’s house, so they effortlessly made their way to the living room. The Polish man, as usual, was sitting in his leather chair and polishing a pistol. Upon seeing the teens he quickly put it away and smiled. 

“Good morning. I didn't think that you would come this early, so I didn't have time to set up yet. You might as well help me since you're already here, though.” He chuckled. Hainrich got used to treating the partisans like his own children, it was comforting in a time of war. 

“Setting up for our own celebration? Seems logical.” Gilbert crossed his arms and scoffed. 

“Toris wanted to tell you something.” Natalia looked to the Lithuanian. 

The boy smiled and shook his head, “Let's set up first. It's not that important.”

***

Setting up wasn't that difficult since Hainrich already kept most of his house in top shape. All they did was take food from the house’s underground and set it prettily on the table. There was more food than usual. Dmitri watched them set up, as he was told that this was a celebration for him. He remembered his last birthday in Bulgaria. The war had already begun at that time, and his parents told him that he could stay home instead of going to the fields. He wished that he didn't, though, because while his parents were away, the Nazis brought him the news that his best friend had been killed at the front. When he ran to his friend’s house to check up on his little brother and parents, he had found the house burning. No one made it out of the fire. 

Dmitri shuddered at the memories and looked to see his uncle setting a bottle of Polish wine on the table. 

“Are you okay? You seem troubled.” Hainrich stopped to look at the boy. 

“I'm alright. I'm just thinking about what had happened back in Bulgaria. I wish that I could've done something.” Dmitri sighed. 

Hainrich frowned and walked to his nephew. He placed a hand on his shoulder, “Don't think about it. There's nothing you could've done.” 

Dmitri nodded understandingly, “I suppose I shouldn't think about it. I don't want to worry everyone else with my awful past.” 

“Don't worry about what they think. They're good kids, trust me.” With a smile, Hainrich called the rest from the underground. 

“We’re eating? Finally!” Gilbert was the first one to sprint up the underground stairs with spices in his hands. 

“Don't get ahead of yourself. We need to make a toast first.” The man scolded as the teens filed in around the table. 

“Are we going to drink?” Feliks asked Ivan, next to whom he was sitting. 

“I hope so.” Ever since his father let him try a shot of vodka on the last New Years before the war, Ivan had always been a fan of all things alcoholic. 

“Why not? This is a celebration, after all. A bit of alcohol once in a while isn't going to hurt you, but don't get used to it.” Hainrich warned as he poured a bit of wine in the glasses. 

The teens watched him in excitement. Wartime or not, at this age they all felt like they were breaking some unwritten rule. By nature, that got them riled up. 

Hainrich rose a glass filled with red wine and cleared his throat. The situation was amusing to him, and he wanted to make this moment  memorable for the teens. 

“This is to all our previous and future victories, and to the promising and new addition to our troop.” 

The teens rose their own glasses and the sound of crystal ringing against one another sounded through the house. They drank the wine so their glasses were empty and they set them on the table. 

Gilbert and Ivan were the first to begin eating. Katerina looked at them with disapproval and muttered something about being disrespectful, but the boys didn't listen. Hainrich saw the scene but only nodded with a smile. Spending his time around the kids reminded him of his own youth. 

“So, Toris, about what you wanted to tell me.” The man began, catching the boy he was addressing off guard, but the latter soon remembered what he wanted to say and nodded. 

“I was thinking about a new plan. Gilbert gave me the idea, I just perfected it.” He began. 

"Always giving credit when it's due.” Hainrich chuckled, “So what's the plan?”

“Alright. You know the train station between Borovka and Krasnoye? Dmitri was there today. There are two types of trains: civilian passenger trains and nazi controlled weapon trains. The second type is the one we need. The railway circles Krasnoye and goes over the Kud river - that’s where the rails are the weakest. If we set mines there, the next train to pass the place will explode, along with a chunk of the rails. Not only will we stop the train, we’ll possibly cut off their transport here for quite some time.” The boy explained. As he did so, the dining room became engulfed in silence as everyone present pondered over the proposed thought.

“Hold on, isn’t there a bridge over Kud a few kilometers away from here?” Ivan asked, recalling something. He and his family travelled by that railway when they went to visit their relatives in Stalingrad, so he had a vague knowledge of the place.

“A few kilometers? No less than thirty. It took so little time to get there because we got there by train, and now the Gestapo controls it.” Katerina commented with an undertone of sorrow. 

“That’s a good idea, Toris, but it’s not a plan just yet. How are you going to carry it out? Just as Katerina said, there are Vlasov and Wehrmacht soldiers everywhere in the area.” Hainrich was used to hearing absurd ideas for plans from the kids. It was one of the ways they differed from the official Resistance movement, and Hainrich took it upon himself to train them. Though, in doing that, he would strip them from their childhood entirely, he believed that the war had done that already, and they weren’t children anymore - they were full-fledged defenders of their Motherland.

“I’ve thought about it already.  We’ll take some baskets and go along the railway. If there will be any questioning from the Nazis - and there will be - we’ll just say that we’re picking berries, which we will be, for the time being. The area around Krasnoye is rich and raspberries grow literally everywhere. After they get used to us being there, we’ll start carrying mines and grenades in our baskets and put them under the rails when no one is looking. We’re kids, and no one will suspect anything, because they don’t think we’re capable of carrying out any type of missions.” Toris concluded, his eyes sparkling with passion. Though he would never say it aloud, he was incredibly proud of his plans, but it wasn’t for selfish reasons. He thought and planned and lived solely for the wellbeing of the Soviet Union. Perhaps this patriotism is what fueled him to strategize as well as he did.

“God, you never disappoint me.” Gilbert was the first to break the silence which arose again, only this time to marvel at the suggested scheme. The German boy’s voice was filled with pride for the boy he considered his brother. 

“It’s a good plan, but will the Nazis tolerate a bunch of kids sneaking around their base? What can they do to us?” Feliks asked anxiously. He wasn’t trying to find holes in Toris’s plan, though once he finished talking he became afraid that his phrase was interpreted that way. He simply feared the Nazis with raw terror. Even as a child he had to leave his home behind to get away from them. 

“Do you really think they’ll shoot you for picking berries in the forest? They take everything from us, anyway, they have to leave this alone. I saw some people doing that when we went to hang flyers, so it just has to be fine.” Gilbert argued. He indeed saw no reason for Feliks’s worries.

“If you’d like, you can come with me tomorrow. I won’t let anything happen to you, I promise. I’ve done things like this before.” Toris suggested calmly. His words caused Feliks’s eyes to widen in shock and he was about to protest, but Hainrich spoke up first.

“Then it’s settled. Toris and Feliks - you two go to the railway tomorrow. Gilbert and Natalia will give Dmitri a tour of area and tell him about what you do as partisans. Ivan and Katerina will help me with the Panzerjager and guns: they’re due tomorrow night and there’s no way I can finish in time by myself.” Hainrich sorted their schedule for the next day easily. 

“Finally we have interesting work to do!” Gilbert exclaimed and began eating a pickle with a satisfied expression.

“Are you sure that I’m not being a nuisance? I’m sure you guys have more important things to do than be tour guides for me.” Dmitri said quietly, looking down at the buckwheat in front of him.

"Obviously not. You’re joining us and it’s as, if not more important to train you than other jobs at the moment.” Ivan spoke up. He understood that feeling of not belonging, and he wanted to do everything to avoid one of his new comrades feeling like that.

“Exactly what he said.” Gilbert nodded.

They all ate and talked about other things. Dmitri was eager to tell stories of sunny Bulgaria, and how disappointed and scared he was when the Tsar signed an alliance treaty with the Nazis, but there must have been no choice if the government ended up doing so. They talked a little about politics and that they hoped that the war would end before the end of the year. The wine they drank made their discussions a lot more heated than they would’ve been and their conversations ceased only towards nine in the evening. Looking outside at the dark outside, Hainrich told the kids that it was late, and suggested that they stay over at his house for the night, but his response was rejected. All six of them agreed that leaving the base was dangerous and it’s best if they sleep in the shelter they called home. Hainrich allowed them out - he wasn’t expecting them to stay over for that reason, anyway. It was an absolute pleasure for him to see that their hearts were in the right place, and that they were so committed to their noble task.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've wanted to update this fic for some time now, and what better day than Victory Day to update a WW2 fic? ;) Hopefully, I'll update this soon. I really don't want to rush this fic. I like it too much.


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